U.S. engagement with oil exporters changing

BUENOS AIRES, Sept. 11 (UPI) -- Developments in the U.S. oil and natural gas market are changing the conversation Washington has with its foreign partners, a State Department official said.

The U.S. Energy Department said Tuesday domestic crude oil production increased last month to an average 7.6 million barrels per day, the highest for any month since 1989.

New drilling technologies used to tap into oil deposits locked in shale have translated to record lows in terms of U.S. imports of foreign oil.

Robert Cekuta, deputy assistant secretary of state for the Bureau of Energy Resources, told delegates at a forum last week in Argentina unconventional resources like shale are changing the way the United States engages with energy exporters.

"Patterns in the global energy trade are already changing, and the implications of these changes are important for energy producers and consumers alike," he said in statements made available Tuesday.

Cekuta said discussions with members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries have shifted to one based on U.S. oil import needs to demands from emerging Asian economies.

EIA said it expected U.S. crude oil production will reach 8.4 million barrels per day next year.

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